# Cake Removal Meerschaum?



## Terrier (Jan 15, 2010)

This last weekend, I had the good fortune of recieving from my mother-in-law a Meerschaum pipe that belonged to my father-in-law. In any event, it has some cake in the chamber that needs to be removed. Anyone have any advice on effective ways to remove cake without harming the Meerschaum?
Very nice smoker.


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## GuitarDan (Nov 26, 2009)

A sharp thin bladed pocket knife, 220 and 400 grit sand paper, and keen attention to detail.


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## Terrier (Jan 15, 2010)

Thanks for the prompt response. I got it done. Actually used an exacto knife with a kind of curved blade for scraping action (not digging), being careful not to go too deep and then used sandpaper. It feels pretty good and smooth, and it is still black in color (no cake), indicative of not going too deep. 
I was trying to take a photo of the pipe (not the cake) to show off my new gift; however, I don't know how to attach a photo. Any help would be appreciated.


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## Nicolas J. Pug (Apr 21, 2009)

GuitarDan said:


> A sharp thin bladed pocket knife, 220 and 400 grit sand paper, and keen attention to detail.


I just cleaned up a heavily caked ebay meer the same way. It took a while. I also removed some rim dings by taping a sheet of 400 grit to a flat surface and very gently sanding the top while spinning the bowl. It lost a little bowl height, but it looks much better.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

I get most cake out with a looped bristle cleaner after smoking; sometimes chunky stuff shows up and the bowl needs a little dressing up with a dull pipe scraper. Putting an Exacto blade into a meer sounds like lighting a pipe with a torch to me.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Mister Moo said:


> Putting an Exacto blade into a meer sounds like lighting a pipe with a torch to me.


Yes!!! Please, no sharp objects inside your meer! It's infinitely easy to dig into the stone itself. If you have excessively heavy cake, first use a regular pipe reamer to get it down to a manageable size, then sandpaper. Be gentle!

That said, my continued experiment relative to having a normal cake in a meer shows that cake the size of a nickel has yet to "expand and contract at a different rate than the meerschaum and will crack the pipe", as the popular warning goes. I've seen well smoked meerschaums with heavy cakes that haven't cracked. I think that old warning is theoretical rather than actual... kind of like making too many weird faces and having your face get stuck in that position.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Terrier said:


> This last weekend, I had the good fortune of recieving from my mother-in-law a Meerschaum pipe that belonged to my father-in-law. In any event, it has some cake in the chamber that needs to be removed. Anyone have any advice on effective ways to remove cake without harming the Meerschaum?
> Very nice smoker.


A note on cleaning the shank... you can use alcohol, just as you do in briars. In fact, meers should be cleaned with alcohol regularly. Some do it after each smoke. That may or may not be obsessive. I'm doing this at least once every couple of weeks (which probably relates to 3-4 smokes). I use Everclear, a shank brush and bristle cleaners. It's a pain in the ass but gunk in a meerschaum pipe will negatively affect the quality of the smoke faster than briar.

This is something I recently learned that has proven helpful.


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## Terrier (Jan 15, 2010)

Mister Moo said:


> I get most cake out with a looped bristle cleaner after smoking; sometimes chunky stuff shows up and the bowl needs a little dressing up with a dull pipe scraper. Putting an Exacto blade into a meer sounds like lighting a pipe with a torch to me.


I understand what you are saying about the exacto blade; however, it was not a standard shaped blade (it was kind of rounded), and I was extremely careful. It probably wasn't a good idea on my part because one slip could have been a problem. Thanks all for your responses.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

dmkerr said:


> Yes!!! ... kind of like making too many weird faces and having your face get stuck in that position.


A day late. If only I had known.












terrier said:


> ...I was extremely careful [but] one slip could have been a problem.


I know what you're saying. Each time I watch that Frank Pipe Fill video I think, "This'll be the time he makes a mistake with that torch lighter!" but it never happens. Never THAT guy. No way. *I* will be the one to slip up with that torch.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Mister Moo said:


> A day late. If only I had known.


Another good theoretical argument laid waste by facts. Bummer! How'd you get your nose to fold like that?


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

dmkerr said:


> How'd you get your nose to fold like that?


What's THAT supposed to mean? All I did was arch my eyebrows.


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## Terrier (Jan 15, 2010)

Okay, I may have figured out how to post photos. Here are photos of my Meer (I hope):

EDIT: Well, not exactly what I was trying to do.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Terrier said:


> Okay, I may have figured out how to post photos. Here are photos of my Meer (I hope):Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket
> 
> EDIT: Well, not exactly what I was trying to do.


That is one sweet looking pipe!!!! I've been looking for a "Wise Chinese" carved meer but haven't seen anything I like. Any idea who carved it? I didn't notice the carvers name if it was mentioned.


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## Terrier (Jan 15, 2010)

Thanks. The container for it states "Genuine Sunalp Block Meerschaum". Other than that, there are no markings that I can identify. I do very much like the pipe and it smokes very nicely. I think I may smoke it later today.


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## kvv098 (Mar 16, 2010)

I just wash inside the bowl with tap water and let it dry. It is a stone after all...


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

kvv098 said:


> I just wash inside the bowl with tap water and let it dry. It is a stone after all...


It's a mineral and it's highly absorbent. I don't use water. Instead, I use Everclear (or any high octane grain alcohol), as it evaporates very quickly whereas water will seep into the stone.


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

dmkerr said:


> It's a mineral and it's highly absorbent. I don't use water. Instead, I use Everclear (or any high octane grain alcohol), as it evaporates very quickly whereas water will seep into the stone.


The meer "manual" (or scrap of paper that came with my meer) expressly forbade use of any liquid on the bowl/stone. One does not want to wash out the wax that it is infused with (that gives it an even coloring after 500 odd years of smoking).


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

The wax isn't supposed to be inside the bowl, is it?


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

MarkC said:


> The wax isn't supposed to be inside the bowl, is it?


The original (read, old) meerschaums were dipped in sperm whale oil or something. The whale juice soaked into the bowl and did its coloring thing. Cue the arrival of Greenpeace ... now they use wax.

The bowl has wax infused within it. The way I read the coloring mechanism, when you smoke the heat draws the wax toward the inside where it absorbs the "color" (tar, icky, whatever). When the smoke is done, the wax backs off and the color is wicked to the outside of the bowl where it lays a micron thin layer. Repeat on next smoke. After a gazillion years, the color has changed. Hence the oft repeated maxim of "don't overheat your meer", since the wax will boil away and the color won't migrate to the outside of the bowl.


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## IKMeerschaum (Feb 8, 2007)

RJpuffs said:


> The bowl has wax infused within it.


Wax is only applied to the OUTSIDE of the bowl and shank if a pipe; never inside the bowl. You are correct on all other points. 
Oh, it doesn't take millennium for a pipe to color. It should begin coloring within weeks of regular smoking.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

RJpuffs said:


> The meer "manual" (or scrap of paper that came with my meer) expressly forbade use of any liquid on the bowl/stone. One does not want to wash out the wax that it is infused with (that gives it an even coloring after 500 odd years of smoking).


I rewax my meers regularly so no worries there.

500 years??? Granted, I have some meers that take to coloring like a whale takes to gravel, but I also have meers that have started coloring evenly after a few smokes. That said, I don't expect to have a fully colored (dark brown) meer during my lifetime.


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> Wax is only applied to the OUTSIDE of the bowl and shank if a pipe; never inside the bowl. You are correct on all other points.
> Oh, it doesn't take millennium for a pipe to color. It should begin coloring within weeks of regular smoking.


Ah, the meer-dude! Is the old maxim about overheating-boiling-off-wax true?

I have one meer, not sure what make, it has a terrible draw and therefore is rarely used, and therefore is still lily white. Someday I'll deal with the tenon/stem, or get one 'a your meers :clap2:


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## IKMeerschaum (Feb 8, 2007)

RJpuffs said:


> Ah, the meer-dude! Is the old maxim about overheating-boiling-off-wax true?


Yes, it is for the most part. This type of behavior SEEMS to happen mostly on the upper portion of the bowls. I THINK that what happens is that the wax tends to migrate down the bowl more rather than evaporating (but I have no proof of this). The reason I say this is because in cases where this has happened, the pipe will have an all but black shank and lower bowl. We've never had a burn out come back to us but we know a few people that smoke with their foot in it and they seem to always end up with black shank.



RJpuffs said:


> I have one meer, not sure what make, it has a terrible draw and therefore is rarely used, and therefore is still lily white. Someday I'll deal with the tenon/stem, or get one 'a your meers :clap2:


Nothing wrong with a lily white meer in my opinion but an unsmoked one is just wrong. Is the problem with the draw that it is too tight/constrained? If so, might just need drilling out. Here in the states, we send our repair work to the following guys. They might be able to help:
Schulte's Pipe Repair Service
Howard Schulte
678 Old Dixie Hwy.
Vero Beach, FL 32962
Phone and Fax: 772-564-0079
Factory Authorized DUNHILL Repairs
ALL Meerschaum and Briar Pipes 
or
Norwood's Pipe Repair
Floyd Norwood
1160 Norwood Lane
Clifton, TN 38425
Phone: 731-925-1836
All Meerschaum and Briar Pipes


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> Schulte's Pipe Repair Service
> Howard Schulte
> 678 Old Dixie Hwy.
> Vero Beach, FL 32962
> ...


As a consumer, I can vouch for Floyd. Have you ever used Ronni at NightOwl Pipeworks? I have 2 meers with him now - highly regarded. On those two, the stem is not the problem, unfortunately.


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## IKMeerschaum (Feb 8, 2007)

dmkerr said:


> As a consumer, I can vouch for Floyd. Have you ever used Ronni at NightOwl Pipeworks? I have 2 meers with him now - highly regarded.


No, but we can certainly add him to the list and give him a shot! Your word is good in my book.



dmkerr said:


> On those two, the stem is not the problem, unfortunately.


Sounds like a sad story coming on... 
:scared:


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> Yes, it is for the most part. This type of behavior SEEMS to happen mostly on the upper portion of the bowls. I THINK that what happens is that the wax tends to migrate down the bowl more rather than evaporating (but I have no proof of this). The reason I say this is because in cases where this has happened, the pipe will have an all but black shank and lower bowl. We've never had a burn out come back to us but we know a few people that smoke with their foot in it and they seem to always end up with black shank.


That's what I've heard as well. I've no proof, either but I am the proud owner of a black shanked, white bowled SMS that I use for gardening, snow removal, etc. If I had a picture of it, I'd caption it: A Proud Survivor Of Overpuffing - Since 1988. :laugh:

P.S. It's also Exhibit A for the prosecution in the case of cake cracking the bowl. This pipe is my knock-around and has cake that would make a briar happy and has been smoked in sub-zero weather and then brought into the house hot from smoking and never cracked. I guess SMS makes 'em tough, eh? :mrgreen:


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## IKMeerschaum (Feb 8, 2007)

dmkerr said:


> I guess SMS makes 'em tough, eh?


Yeah, they're ok I suppose. LOL No seriously, they do have good pipes.

Glad to hear that you've got a knock-about meer. That black shank might come in handy if you ever drop it into a snowbank while shoveling. :mrgreen:


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> Nothing wrong with a lily white meer in my opinion but an unsmoked one is just wrong. Is the problem with the draw that it is too tight/constrained? If so, might just need drilling out. Here in the states, we send our repair work to the following guys. They might be able to help:


Great! Thanks for the leads eace:


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